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Determination of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) nutrient uptake in residue biomass is important for agronomic, economic, and environmental decisions. Improved understanding of grain yield, residue biomass, nutrient uptake, and their relationships are needed. Research determined these factors in 2018 and 2019 from trials of four barley classes (spring animal feed, human food, and malt, as well as winter malt), using three common cultivars of each, at five locations in southern Idaho. Production environment created the largest difference in residue biomass and nutrient uptake. Barley harvest index ranged from 0.46 to 0.52 Mg Mg−1 across feed, food, and malt classes. Compared to previous estimates, nutrient concentrations from the combined dataset were greater than for N, less than for P, and greater than for K. Correlation of grain yields to nutrient uptake (excluding Cu and Fe) had r2 ranging from 0.68 to 0.89. At current prices, economic analysis indicated that fertilizer replacement costs for total residue biomass nutrients were greater than previous estimates and could greatly exceed current sale value. These relationships and value estimates can be used to improve prediction of barley residue biomass production and nutrient uptake to guide best management practices. The decision of how to utilize these metrics (on‐farm, regional, etc.) should be considered based on known variation in measured nutrient and residue data and considered in relation to the proposed task. Core Ideas: Limited research has focused on nutrient uptake and economic value of barley residue biomass (straw + chaff).Production environment created the largest differences in residue biomass and nutrient uptake across barley classes.Average harvest indices (HI) were 0.51, 0.47, 0.52, and 0.46 Mg Mg−1 for feed, food, spring malt, and winter malt barley.N uptake combined across classes was greater than previous estimates, P was less, and K was greater.Fertilizer replacement cost of nutrients removed in residue may far exceed the sale value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) is a cereal grown for animal feed, human consumption, and malting. Nutrient concentrations are important as they provide information regarding the dietary values of barley consumed by animals or human beings. In addition, grain nutrient removal may be useful for refining fertilizer recommendations. A study was conducted in 2015 and 2016 investigating the cultivar effects on grain yield, quality, and grain nutrient concentrations and removal under irrigated conditions for two-row barley cultivars. Adjunct and feed cultivars produced the highest yields compared with the all-malt and food cultivars. Specific quality and nutrient values were greater than or equal to in the food cultivar compared to the malt or feed cultivars. Variations in nutrient concentrations were measured among the adjunct and all-malt cultivars, which could potentially affect the malting and brewing qualities. Grain yield, quality, nutrient concentrations and nutrient removal varied among cultivars grown under identical environmental conditions, which may influence end-use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has demonstrated that rice (Oryza sativa L.) production poses two large, global environmental concerns: rice uses 25% of the global freshwater supply and generates considerable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The shorter vegetative stage of hybrids compared with conventional (inbred) cultivars may provide two environmental improvements: reduced water consumption and decreased CH4 emissions. This study evaluated the effect of cultivar type on water-use efficiency and net GHG emissions. Water usage and GHG emissions on a per-hectare and per-kilogram-of-grain basis were estimated for hybrid and conventional rice cultivars with a new methodology using seven consecutive years of cultivar-trial data. Because GHG emissions have not been observed directly in cultivar trial experiments, a method of synthesizing GHG emission levels was designed. This method utilizes results from in-field chamber experiments from flooding to after harvest plus emergence and 50% heading dates. Hybrid rice cultivars were estimated to be 23.22% more efficient than conventional cultivars in reducing GHG emissions and 33.47% more efficient in reducing water required per unit grain yield produced. Unlike other approaches to lowering GHG emissions and water usage, substituting hybrids for conventional cultivars appears to be a viable option with low producer transaction costs as opposed to such alternatives as alternate wet-dry flooding, building on-farm reservoirs, etc.. The methodology used produced results that are consistent with the present knowledge of the physiological and cultural practice differences between conventional and hybrid rice production. The GHG synthesizing methodology could be directly applied to other states' historic cultivar trial data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]